by Duncan Nortier
Business today is not the business of yesterday. It isn’t enough to be merely profitable, companies must adhere to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards – with waste management as an essential element on this roadmap to a sustainable future.
The E in ESG
The rationale behind ESG is that it allows investors to pursue both ethical and financial gains, with a focus on the long term. This isn’t just posturing and is an actionable cause as the United Nations calls on organisations to use natural resources efficiently, implement environmentally sound waste management, and prevent and reduce waste through reuse and recycling as part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12.
Recycling is key to the circular economy
Modern waste management
Traditionally, waste management has been about disposal and landfill and while that is still a major component of waste management, there have been developments to move away from this model. There is a renewed focus on the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle as well as avoiding waste as much as possible through resource conservation and being mindful of environmental impact. Essentially businesses need to ask themselves: Do we have an effective waste management strategy in place? Neil says that an effective waste management plan creates “a waste hierarchy which prioritises waste prevention, followed by waste reduction, reuse, recycling, recovery and as a last option, disposal to landfill. Businesses need to abide by the country’s National Waste Management Strategy and a responsible waste management provider, who walks you through the prevailing legislation, is essential for compliance.”
Neil Brink, EnviroServ’s compliance manage
Financial waste management and the circular economy
It is clear that businesses are seeing the ethical and financial advantages of adopting effective ESG practices. Where waste management has an obvious impact on environmental harm reduction, the less obvious but equally interesting impact is on profit. Waste management necessitates creating efficiency strategies within businesses that focus on resource conservation and recovery which ultimately aims at reducing cost.
An example being aluminium where cans that are single-use can be put back into the production cycle. Instead of relying solely on “virgin” products, it is possible to get more use out of a single supply of material. This is of course an illustrative example of a more complex process, known as the circular economy but the idea still holds power: reducing costs by complying with ESG standards.
By focusing on waste recovery and resource conservation, companies create a loop within their businesses where materials are reused and recycled, and important or expensive materials are reduced.
The goals of ESG are not just tick-boxes but come from a very real concern for the environment. Moving waste management into the future not only makes good business sense but is imperative, as Neil notes that new land is not available for landfills and relying on these old ways is a surefire path to environmental crisis. Corporate responsibility is at the centre of these shifts, and the public as well as the law have their eye on businesses and their practices.
South Africa’s largest waste management service provider, adds that “ESG is about being good, global corporate citizens, meeting the expectations of our customers, meeting the expectations of society and the environment” as well as “long-term business success through the implementation of various ESG systems”.
Being environmentally friendly is profitable
The social benefits
The social element within ESG is also important in South Africa, as removing waste from communities allows for healthier living conditions. The environmental aspects are intrinsically linked with the social as trying to better one necessitates the other being bettered. In South Africa, many people who have been excluded from the economy have become “wastepreneurs” and form part of the essential task of waste recovery. In South Africa, an estimated sixty to ninety thousand people are waste pickers, and this informal economy has provided income to many people and boosted the economy while being integral to the waste recovery phase in the waste management industry.
Where EnviroServ shines is partnering with its clients and using its distinct methodology as well as implementing reporting and adjusting. Using reporting and management tools helps companies understand and monitor their waste, allowing them to effectively and quickly respond to changes and implement new solutions as needed. These metrics can include the total weight of non-hazardous waste diverted from disposal, hazardous waste directed to disposal, and non-hazardous waste directed to disposal, with a breakdown in the composition of waste. This is a proactive and reactive approach that allows for unique solutions to individual problems while relying on best practices to aid with solutions.
